The remains of 108 Aborigines who died nearly 42,000 years ago will be reburied years after they were dug up without permission.
Among the indigenous Australian remains are the remains of Mungo Man, who was discovered in 1974 and whose findings helped rewrite Australian history.
The reburial decision came after the federal government completed a formal four-year evaluation.
However, some Aboriginal groups say they were not consulted during this process.
Between the years 1960-80, archaeological finds came in succession. During this time, researchers found the remains of 108 Aborigines in Lake Mungo and the Willandra Lake District, part of the Willandra world heritage site, about 750 km west of Sydney.
Mungo Man’s remains have been considered the oldest evidence of humans living in Australia, as well as evidence of the first recorded burial.
This finding pointed to an ancient history of civilization stretching back 42,000 years.
This record was renewed in 2017 when other remains dating back 65,000 years were discovered in another part of the country.
But debate continues over what will become the remains of the 108 people.
It is stated that many relics that have been removed from their places without permission have not yet been returned and some are kept in museums overseas. The removal of the Mungo Man remains is said to have caused great suffering among Indigenous Australians.
Due to the sensitivity of this issue, Mungo Man was returned to Mungo National Park, where he was first found in 2017, after being held in the warehouse of the Australian National University in Canberra.
In 2018, however, the Australian government decided to reburial all 108 remains, as an expression of an effort to honor the wishes of Aboriginal groups.
On Wednesday, the Australian government approved the reburial of these remains at 26 locations in unnamed national parks in the coming months.
Although the government claims to be listening to the Aboriginal community in the region, some community members say they are disappointed that they were not consulted in the process.
Australian Aborigines are believed to be the oldest civilization in the world that has survived to this day.
There are differing opinions among scholars when the Aborigines arrived in Australia. The general belief is that the Aborigines arrived between 47 and 60 thousand years ago.